At least 40 killed as two trains collide near Adamuz in Andalucía

At least 40 people were killed when two trains collided near the town of Adamuz in Andalucía, southern Spain, on Sunday evening, officials and a preliminary investigation said. The preliminary report said two cars at the back of a Madrid-bound high-speed train derailed and crossed onto the track of an oncoming southbound train; seconds later the southbound train struck the carriages and careened down a 12-foot embankment.

Officials said neither the privately owned northbound train, carrying around 300 passengers, nor the southbound train operated by Spain’s state rail company was speeding. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said authorities would seek answers about tracks, switches and junctions that had been renovated in May and noted the new train had been inspected as recently as Thursday.

Transport Minister Óscar Puente called the accident “extremely strange” and warned the death toll was not final. Íñaki Barrón, president of the Railway Accident Investigation Commission, told RTVE investigators did not think the crash resulted from human error or signals and suggested it could involve “the interaction between the track and the vehicle.” Investigators are also assessing whether a break in a section of track was a cause or a consequence of the derailment.

The victims included a police officer, journalists and relatives returning from a musical; a union of journalists named María Clauss and Óscar Toro among the dead, and family members reported multiple fatalities.

Key Topics

World, Adamuz, Andalucía, Iryo, Renfe, Rail Safety Agency